Resilience: "No man steps in the same river twice"

Managing Yourself: Bringing Out the Best in Your People

Heraclitus the Greek stated that “no man ever steps in the same river twice”, believing we must accept there is ever-present change

Yet in the coming months (In Australia) on the assumption that restrictions will be eased, and we begin to venture back to the workplace, will returning to the office involve the same process and procedures we have been through before?

In discussions with several Executives in the last week it seems there are two views arising: one being that it’s simply business as usual, and the other recognising that it will be different.?

The second perspective is key. It recognises that everyone gets hit by the “Mack truck of life”, that everyone’s Mack Truck is different, and that we each respond in different ways.

Stepping into the same river twice?

In a study of more than 150 of selected leaders in more than 35 companies, spanning four continents (https://hbr.org/2010/05/managing-yourself-bringing-out-the-best-in-your-people), which conducted 360-degree analyses of these leaders’ behaviors and practices, several critical differences in the mind-set of these leaders arose:

• Those who held the view that intelligence is based on elitism, scarcity, and stasis: That is, you won’t find high levels of brainpower everywhere, in everyone, and if your employees don’t get it now, they never will.
• Those who held the view that people’s smarts are ever evolving and can be cultivated. The critical question for these leaders is not “Is this person smart?” but rather “In what ways is this person smart?”.

The study (whilst written some years ago, is arguably more relevant right now) also established that those who truly listened and gave staff space to unleash the best thinking:

• Got more out of their teams.
• Fostered a more productive environment.
• Pushed staff to look beyond what they know
• Made better decisions by engaging in rigorous discussion

As we re-enter a similar stream when restrictions are eased, which of your teams are truly engaging their staff so that they embrace the ever-present change, and multiply their talent (a learnable skill) in the process?

And for those that like a pinot – this is quite delicious!

Holm Oak the Wizard, Pinot Noir, 2018 (Northern Tasmania)"N